Fighting For All That's Good, Version 2
by vanhoose
Summary: Sometimes stories need do overs, right? Well it's time Fighting For All That's Good got one! AU: Four years ago, Maleficent has led a rebellion against the throne and killed all of the royal family except Prince Lawrence. Will Prince Lawrence fight to regain the throne that his rightfully his or will he let Maleficent use her unnatural tactics for possible world domination?
1. Alone

**Hey guys! Long time, I know! A while back I was reading Fighting For All That's Good and realized I could do ****_sooooooooooo_**** much better! So I decided to prove myself right. Here's the revamped version of Fighting For All That's Good. For those of you who have read it before, I'm going to mix some things up (can't be ****_exactly_**** the same the 2nd time around...what fun would that be?). For those of you who haven't read it before, well, you're just in for fun surprises all around!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: Alone

_Four Years Ago_

_Kingdom of California_

Lawrence had never run so fast in his life. His legs was starting to ache on a level that he had never felt before. Being the crowned prince and first in line to the throne never required him to feel this level of pain or run this fast. But being chased out of your bedroom by rebel soldiers changed things very fast for Lawrence.

He burst out of the door and saw the stables, about a hundred yards away. He pushed himself farther toward his safety—a horse. He heard the three rebel soldiers pursuing him come through the door and hurry toward him. Lawrence pushed himself even harder. He was now only fifty yards away.

Twenty yards…ten…five…three…one…

He burst into the stable and shut the door, immediately searching for something to hide behind. There was nothing. He cursed. He decided now would be better than any to use his father's and defend himself, but the horses started neighing. He glanced over toward the animals and noticed one on the far end was already saddled.

Lawrence sighed out loud in relief. _Thank you whoever did this_.

He sprinted across the stable and opened the door to the stall. He jumped on the horse and immediately kicked it in order to get the horse to start galloping.

He burst out the other door, away from the three rebel soldiers who had just burst through the stable door.

He rode into the rain—sword in right hand, reins in the left. The sheer amount of rain plastered his linen shirt to his chest and his pants to his thighs. His shoes were already soaked from his hundred yard run before. He kicked the horse on both sides and directed it toward the gate, gaining speed as he went.

Luckily the only rebel soldiers he met were the ones trying to pursue him on foot. They had been doing so since killing his aunt in his bedroom just minutes before. He hadn't even had time to grieve.

_"Lawrence!" A forceful whisper echoed throughout the prince's enormous bedroom. "Sweetheart…wake up!" Someone was shaking him. He woke up and saw his aunt, the queen, looming over him. A worried look on her face._

_"You must get out of here now, Lawrence."_

_"Wanda? What's going on?" Lawrence sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes._

_"Listen to me, Finn." There was that childhood nickname that his aunt only used when he was in trouble. "There are rebel forces inside the castle and they intend on killing the royal family. Your grandfather is already dead and I am sure you and I are next on their list. I need you to get out of here and run as far away as you can."_

_"Wait, what? Grandfather is dead?" _The king is dead, _Lawrence thought to himself. _My grandfather. Gone.

_Lawrence got out of his bed and stood right in from of his aunt. "You have to come with me, Wanda." He grabbed his boots and started pulling them on. _

_"No, I can't!" Lawrence stood up in protest after pulling on his boots. The queen continued in a more hurried tone. "You're the next in line for the throne, my sweet. The rebels want to get rid of any threats to their new order."_

_She stepped closer to him, taking hold of both of his hands. "I want you to run as far away and when the time comes, you'll come back and restore our family to the throne." She squeezed his hands. "I believe in you Lawrence Finnegan."_

_The reality of the situation hit Lawrence like a ton of bricks. A tear escaped his eye and flowed down his cheek. "But Wanda, where do I go?"_

_"Just get as far away as possible. But you will need your father's help." She scurried over to the old dresser that had been in his room since before he was born. She shoved it aside with great difficulty and a hole in the wall was revealed. Her body covered its contents from Lawrence's view._

_"Here, take this." She handed him a sword and a necklace. The sword was the most magnificent thing he had ever seen. Made of the finest metal, it gleamed in the light of Wanda's candlelight and the full moon's shadow coming through the window._

_She handed him the sword and he felt the power seeping through his skin into his veins, coursing throughout his body. Something about this sword made him feel more confident, but at the same time more afraid. She reached up and placed the necklace around his neck. It was just long enough for it to hide underneath his shirt. He looked down and saw there were two things hanging from the silver chain. The first was a small copy of the royal family crest. The second was his mother's wedding ring._

_Finn's tears multiplied. As if losing his grandfather wasn't enough, the mere sight of something that belonged to either of his dead parents had drawn him back to a dark place in his past._

_"You'll need these," the queen reassured him. "They will help you on your quest to reclaim the throne._

_Lawrence met his aunt's eyes. "How long has my father's sword been in my room?"_

_"Long enough, my dear. It was placed there only to be used by you when you were in battle or in emergencies." She took a long, deep sigh. "Unfortunately, this situation is both." She placed both of her hands on his shoulders. "He would have wanted you to have it." She took a step back. She was obviously holding back tears._

_"Take a horse in the stable. Use the secret passageway in the room next to you." She wiped a tear off of her cheek. "And sweetie?"_

_"Yes?" Lawrence's voice was shaky, tears streaming down his face._

_"You will make us all proud. Your grandfather. Your sister. Me. Your parents. All of us. I just know it. I love you, Lawrence."_

_And before he lost his courage, he ran out of the room. He hurried into the room next to his and once the door was closed, he paused, thinking of a plan. He heard soldiers barging into his room. He hoped his aunt had hid._

_Her scream told him otherwise._

She had sacrificed herself to give him his best chance at surviving. He was going to make the best of it.

Today was not going to be the end of him.

Lawrence rode until the rain subsided. He wasn't sure how long ago he left the castle, but the sun was slowly peeking out from the clouds, so he knew it had been long enough.

He maneuvered the horse into a slow walk until they found a stream. Lawrence jumped off the horse and took a few sips of water while the horse did so.

He sat down in the grass, sword sitting beside him. His clothes were still soaking wet and plastered to him. He felt exposed. He felt vulnerable. He felt immense confusion. He was paranoid. He was alone.

But he was also determined. Even if it took him until he was eighty-five, he _would_ become the rightful king of California. His family would not have died in vain. He would make sure of it.

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**Ta-da! And it's back in full swing! Review and let me know what you think! I'll update soon! Have a wonderful day!**


	2. Nobody of Consequence

**If you know me at all, you know that I hate making y'all wait. Since I already have chapter 2 ready to go...why not share it? It'd be just plain rude not too! **

**Without further adieu, here's chapter 2-and onto some real plot!**

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Chapter 2: Nobody of Consequence

_Present Day_

_Village of Burbank, Located at the Edge of the Kingdom of California_

The sun was peeking through the trees much earlier this morning than any other in the past month. As Lawrence rode down the crude path, he noticed how the sun reflected off his father's sword in a way that illuminated darker parts of the forest around him. The sight was almost majestic. The only thing that could ruin the beautiful scene in front of him was the smell of his horse's dung.

Lawrence hated riding to the village. It was his least favorite thing. He was exposed. He risked getting caught by soldiers and sent to Maleficent herself. But he had to do this visit today for he needed food. He hadn't seen any wildlife in the area for weeks and his food supply from his last trip to the city five months ago was gone.

Lawrence—or Finn, the childhood nickname he adopted as his fake name four years ago—was starving. The last time he had food was…was…he couldn't even remember. A few days ago perhaps?

Goofy, his horse, was lucky. He could eat grass. If Lawrence wasn't successful today at the village, he would have to resort to doing the same.

_How can I become king if I can barely get enough food to survive?_

It was already midday before Lawrence reached the village. He reluctantly gave his horse to the stable boy outside the village gates. Though the village wasn't very big, horses were still not allowed in the streets.

"'Specially not today sir," the stable boy said to Finn. Now that he was not in the woods, he couldn't be Prince Lawrence. He had to be Finn—the boy who lived on his own outside the village. "There's a witch burning today."

"There is? We haven't had one of those in a while," Finn said to the boy without thinking too much about his words. His focus was on the horse still. He didn't care to make conversation with anyone unless he had to. The stable boy was nonessential conversation.

Finn gave the boy a coin, stolen from an unfortunate and ruthless rich man in the village a few months ago, and walked through the gates.

Finn could only remember one time this village was ever this crowded and he could remember it like it was yesterday.

He was seven years old and his father had come to this village to visit a potential new wife. Her name was Belle. Finn remembered her very well. She was overly intelligent and had a huge library in the back of her large house. Her father had died a few years ago and had left her with a huge fortune.

The village streets had been crowded with people when Finn and his father came riding through. He remembered sitting on the horse with his father behind him, keeping hold of the reins. His father smiled at the crowd but when he looked down at his son, his green eyes glowed.

Finn only remembered a few things about the Lady Belle. She read him stories at night by candlelight in her huge library. Tales of far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells and princes in disguise.

But something must not have worked out with the marriage, because he never saw her again. When Finn had wandered over to this part of the kingdom four years ago, he first sought out Belle. He doubted she would remember him, but he needed a friend. And she was the only one with the hope of being alive.

He was wrong. Finn had hid in her house for a few months before rebel soldiers came to the village. Finn had been living in the woods ever since. For some reason, he felt compelled to stay near this particular village. For the next year after being run out of Belle's old house, he had travelled across the kingdom, searching for friends and allies, but he ended up in the woods outside of Burbank, waiting in the woods at his old, childhood hideout (one that he had to rebuild after years of disuse) for any sign of his old friend. A pointless hope, but one he could not shake.

Finn waded through the crowd, looking for a particular shop owned by his friend's mother. His _only_ friend.

Eventually, Finn found the shop and walked in. Before he made it to the counter to ask for his friend, Dillard came barreling out from the back and nearly tackled him in a hug.

"Finn!" He exclaimed. "How have you been? I haven't seen you around lately. I was starting to get worried!" He let go of Finn and took a step back, getting a good look at his friend. He frowned at the looseness of Finn's shirt. "Lemme guess. Food run?"

Finn nodded. "It's been a rough hunting season," he mumbled.

Dillard directed him to the back of the shop, where Dillard and his mother lived. "Luckily for you, my friend. We've got a surplus this year. God's been good this season."

Finn saw a few baskets of bread. Another couple filled with fruit. Two jugs of wine. A container of meat. A bag of salt. He wanted to cry.

"Take as much as you need," Dillard insisted.

"Oh but…I can't Dill…there's so much food here."

Dillard patted his friend on the shoulder. "Mom's into this whole charity thing now-a-days. Feeding the hungry and what not. You, my sad, strange little friend, qualify."

Finn would normally defend himself, but he didn't care this time. His stomach was just growling in anticipation. He didn't even wait for Dillard to say anything else. Finn started grabbing food. He had brought a bag with him that was large enough for a loaf of bread, a whole basket of fruit, one jug of wine and a little beat of meat and salt for preservation.

Once he had finished, he gave his friend Dillard a hug. "Thank you Dillard." He let go of him and slung the bag over his head, placing it in a comfortable location at his hip. "Someday I'll be able to repay you for all your kindness."

"Nonsense!" Dillard said as he started heading back to the shop, with Finn in tow. "That's what friends are for!"

They reached the shop and Dillard's mother called out for him. After reassuring his mother he would be there in a minute, he turned to give Finn a few last words.

"Are you going to stick around for the witch burning today Finn?"

Finn shrugged. "Wasn't planning on it. Why?"

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! We might even be able to score some exotic food at the shops across town for cheap if we're lucky!"

Finn knew he couldn't turn down good food like that…

"I guess I could stick around…"

Dillard's face lit up. "Sweet! Just don't wander off too far and you and I can go together after I do a few things for mother first. Okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

A few hours later, Finn found himself standing next to Dillard in a thick crowd of people surrounding a wooden raised platform in the middle of the village square.

Finn remembered the amazing feeling of riding through this same square when he was seven. Now, he was twenty-eight and now he was just feeling perplexed and anxious.

On the platform was a pile of wood surrounding a large wooden pole that was standing tall at ten feet. There were four people on this platform. By the time Finn and Dillard had gotten close enough to see what was going on, the trial was almost over.

There was an elderly man wearing a long black robe. Finn had assumed he was one of the local priests from the church. He overheard some people calling him Judge Frollo, causing Finn to wonder what the Maleficent had done to the local governments since her rule. Before she had taken over by force, the local villages had been led by priests or the aristocracy living there. He had a slight idea of what a judge did—his father used to judge people's trials all the time—but having one in a small village like Burbank?

Next to him, there were two of Maleficent's soldiers holding a beautiful young woman. She had dark skin and dark brown hair to match. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean, but on fire with rage and anger. Something about her seemed so familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

Finn made it his mission to find out where he knew her from.

The elderly man raised his voice loud enough so that Finn and Dillard could finally hear. "I believe the evidence is leaning in favor of Miss Amanda Lovett…being a…_witch!_"

The crowd cheered. Finn felt his stomach churn.

"The last thing we need is a witch in this village! Or in this kingdom!" The crowd cheered again, this time louder. "The only sentence I can find to be fair in her case is to…_BURN HER!_"

As the crowd erupted in cheers so loud, Finn couldn't hear himself think, the young woman's—Miss Amanda Lovett's—eyes met his. All her desperation burned into him like a blacksmith's tool on a criminal's arm. He surged forward, pushing the cheering crowd out of the way.

"Finn?" Dillard called after him. He caught up to Finn as he continued to surge forward and pulled him back. "What are you doing?"

"She needs me."

"She's about to _die_."

"I…I…" He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "You're not going to believe this…but I _know _her from somewhere. I…I have to save her."

Dillard looked at him for a solid minute, not breaking eye contact, but also not saying anything.

The crowd around them shouted things like "BURN HER!" and "DIE WITCH!"

"Okay, Finn. Just don't die for this girl. Alright? I mean, she is still a _girl._"

Finn smirked for the first time in a long time. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Finn turned and started pushing through the crowd to get to the platform again. He knew Dillard wasn't following, but that was okay. Finn's hand slowly crept down to his father's sword as he moved closer.

"Soldiers!" The judge yelled. "Tie the witch to the pole!" The crowd cheered some more. Some even started throwing tomatoes. Judge Frollo turned to address the crowd. "Someone summon the torch bearers!"

As two people came up to the platform with the torches lit, Finn snuck around to the back. He crept up the steps without gaining anyone's notice. The two soldiers had tied Miss Amanda up already.

Before anyone noticed he was on the platform, Finn drew his sword fully and knocked the judge unconscious with the hilt and pushed him off the platform. He turned around to face the two soldiers, who now had their swords drawn and were ready to fight.

"Let her go," Finn demanded. "She's no witch."

"Maleficent's orders. Now stand down or die along with her." The first soldier ordered.

"I'd rather die with her than comply with anything that _Maleficent_ ordered."

Finn charged the first guard, using a disarming move he had taught himself a few years back. After his sword went flying, Finn stabbed his sword into the soldier's right leg, sending him into the crowd screaming in pain.

Finn turned to the second guard, looked him over and stifled a laugh.

"What's so funny, traitor?" The guard asked with a shaky voice.

"This." Finn used his left hand and pushed the second soldier only slightly. The second soldier realized too late that he was standing on the edge of the platform and landed on the ground with a large _THUD!_

Finn turned to Miss Amanda, used his sword to untie her and extended a hand, but she only stared at him.

"What are you doing? We've got to go if you want to live!" Finn asked her.

"Who…who are you?" She asked so quietly, Finn could barely hear her. Her blue eyes bore into him.

"Nobody of consequence. Do you really want to die today?" Finn pointed with his sword to the soldiers lying on the ground the platform. "They won't be down there forever."

Amanda continued to stare at him blankly.

"I seriously think you want to die."

Amanda snapped out of her daze. "I…uh…no. I don't want to die."

"That's what I thought! Now come on. We've got some running to do!" Finn grabbed her hand, jumped off the platform and ran off into the crowd.

Once back at the stable, Finn figured they were safe when the stable boy didn't recognize the proclaimed "witch." The boy gave Finn back his horse. He walked Goofy over to the edge of the woods and hoisted Amanda up onto the saddle.

"HEY!"

Finn turned around to see Dillard running towards them, clearly out of breath. "Wait…up!"

"Dillard? What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you." He stopped right in front of Finn.

Finn looked him up and down, trying to decide whether or not he could survive in the wilderness with him. The beautiful young woman next to him had no choice. Dillard did.

"I…I don't know about this Dill…"

"Oh come on! I want some adventure!"

Finn looked between Miss Amanda and Dillard and back again. So many things could go wrong in the current situation. Finn had been on his own for four years and now in the course of an hour, he now had a beautiful young woman and his best friend both either needing or wanting him. He wasn't entirely sure about Miss Amanda yet.

He sighed and turned back to Dillard.

"Fine. But my horse can't hold all three of us."

"I'll make sure mother takes care of him!" Dillard was bouncing with excitement. Once Amanda got off the horse, he hurried back to the stable boy and to give him the instructions to his mother's house.

As soon as Dillard came back, the three of them headed off into the woods towards Finn's hideout.

* * *

Finn sat on a log facing the small fire he had started out of necessity a little while ago. He kept his gaze on the fire, not wanting to stare at Miss Amanda, who was sitting on the log next to his. She hadn't said a word since his rescue.

Dillard had been asleep for a long time by now. The sun was also gone by about the same amount of time. Finn's horse was exhausted from carrying the three of them half a day. The stars were shining bright tonight. He couldn't remember a night where they had been this clear.

With his boot, Finn stomped out the fire. For a minute, neither said anything. The silence was beautiful and awkward at the same time.

Finn decided to break the silence.

"Why were you on trial? Why would they call you a witch?"

Even in the dark night, he could see her staring down at where the fire had been just seconds before. The stars and moon highlighted just enough of her beautiful face for him to see.

She cleared her throat. "Because…" she moved her gaze to her hands. "I can…" another deep sigh "I can do things that Maleficent can't do…and that scares her."

_Maleficent had sentenced her to death?_ Finn was perplexed. He knew Maleficent was a sorceress. Why on earth would she be seeking out so-called "witches?" She seemed more like the kind that wanted to bring magic into the kingdom, not destroy it—at least based off the stories his father told him about the sorceress and her magical powers all throughout his childhood up. All the way until his death…

_"She is a formidable foe, Lawrence._" He had said on his death bed. _"But I know you can defeat her. Good always wins._"

Finn shook the memory out of his mind. "What kind of things?"

"I…I don't really want to talk about it…" She glanced over at him. "I…uh…don't know your name."

Finn got up and sat by her on the other log. He extended his hand to her. "Name's Lawrence, but you can call me Finn."

_Why did I just tell her my real name?_ _Stupid!_ Finn mentally slapped himself.

She didn't seem to mind. "Amanda," she shook his hand. "Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Save me from being burned at the stake."

Finn was well aware of how close she was to him. He was aware of every inch of her face he could see in the moonlight—which wasn't a lot, but it was enough.

"Honestly?" She nodded, encouraging him to continue. "I don't know. I just…felt…compelled to do so."

Finn looked at Amanda and for the first time since arriving at his hideout, she looked him directly in the eyes. He felt a connection. He knew her from somewhere…but he couldn't tell where.

The moment of bliss ended too soon, as all good things did.

"Well…thanks," she mumbled, again looking at her hands.

"So shouldn't I get…a kiss or something for doing something so heroic?" _Where did _that _come from?_

Amanda giggled and it sounded like bells to Finn. "I think only knights in shining armor get that."

"Well!" Finn crossed his arms, purposely pouting so that maybe she'll laugh again. "Who made you the expert on heroes?"

She smirked at him. "I'm not the expert on heroes."

"Then why can't a guy with a cool secret hideout get a kiss? I'm about as close to a knight in shining armor as you're going to get around here!"

This time, they both laughed. It felt so good to let go of all his worries of the past four years. It felt good to laugh. When was the last time he did that?

Amanda scooted closer to Finn. So close that he could feel her breath on his face. She leaned in even further and Finn prepared for a kiss. She stopped less than an inch from his face.

She moved back just a little. "You know what? I change my mind." She stood up, towering over the stunned Finn. "Maybe when the moment's right. Now…now's not that moment."

She hovered there for a second, as if trying to find the right words to say. "Thanks again, for you know, saving my life. I do owe you one. Goodnight Finn."

And just like that she walked over to her designated sleeping area that Finn had given her shortly after arriving.

Finn was all alone in the campsite. Though sleep was something he knew he needed, his mind was spinning. He needed to find that perfect moment for his kiss with Amanda. He was going to make that happen.

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**Oh boy, it feels good to be back doing this again! What did y'all think of chapter 2? Any thoughts? Tell me in a lovely review! **

**Have an amazing day and I'll update as soon as I can! Keep being awesome!**


	3. Defeated

Chapter 3: Defeated

_"Oh come on sis! Take it!" Prince Lawrence held out a silver necklace with a small, blue diamond attached to it, begging her to take it. "It's the perfect birthday present!"_

_She crossed her arms. "I don't want it, Lawrence. It's too expensive." She narrowed her eyes. "Where did you get the money for it?"_

_He smirked. "Oh you know I can't tell you that."_

_"That means you took the money from somebody you shouldn't have, Lawrence."_

_"Oh shut it Isabel. I'll do what I want! I'm the crowned prince! If I want to give my little sister a necklace for her birthday, I'll do just that! Now take it!"_

_"Is that an _order_?" Isabel uncrossed her arms and took a step towards her slightly older brother. "Did you just_ order_ me to do something _Finn_?"_

_"I'm the prince after all,_ Willa."_ Lawrence's smile stretched across his face. "And you're not."_

_Isabel laughed. "Of all the things to order me to do, you order me to take your crappy birthday present that you bought with money that wasn't yours? That's like the worst order in the world! I _know_ you can do better than that!"_

_"Fine! I order you to let Spencer court you finally. He's a fine suitor." It was Lawrence's turn to cross his arms._

_"Fine!" Isabel grabbed the necklace from his hand and placed it around her neck. "Happy now _your highness_?"_

_"I will be when I see you walking around with Spencer, Duke of Sacramento."_

_She rolled her eyes. She hated Spencer, Duke of Sacramento. She had no idea why her grandfather and brother liked him so much._

_"Are you mocking me _Princess Isabel_?" Lawrence squinted his eyes to glare at her. _

_"I don't know what you're talking about." Isabel smiled innocently and walked past Lawrence. "Now if you don't hurry we have a lesson to get to."_

_"But it's geography! Who needs to know about that?" Lawrence whined like a child from behind her. Isabel stopped and turned around._

_"You never know Lawrence. You might get stuck in the woods all by yourself. And if you don't pay attention in this lesson today, you might be lost forever."_

_"Me? Lost?" Her brother laughed. "That would never happen." Isabel rolled her eyes and continued down the hallway toward the classroom. "Why would I even be in the woods by myself anyway?"_

* * *

Five Days Earlier

Royal Palace, Anaheim, Kingdom of California

Isabel awoke with start. That memory was from her seventeenth birthday. Living in the palace with her brother and grandfather seemed like many, many years ago. Eight to be precise.

One more year living at the castle with her family under the rule of her kind grandfather and hilarious brother. Three years of living under the horrible rule of her husband, Spencer, Duke of Sacramento. Four years of living in prison under the torturous rule of Maleficent, the—now, hopefully not forever—Queen of California.

One plus three plus four equals eight. Yep. That's how long ago it was. Eight years. Now she's twenty five. Now she's a prisoner in her own house. Now she's all alone.

She might feel better if she could remember more of what happened the night she ended up a prisoner in her childhood home. Knowing why she was taken and not just how. Knowing exactly how her husband, brother, aunt and grandfather died...or if their deaths were all lies.

The silence of the cell gets to her at moments like this. It's a cell by every definition of the word. There's four walls. She's never allowed outside, though she can see it through a small window, now located behind her. The room is maybe ten feet by ten feet. _Maybe_. It's stone cold. _Stone cold, oh the irony Willa. _She's brought food twice a day. Sometimes only once.

Every once in a while she gets a visit from "Queen" Maleficent herself. What a pleasure it was, dealing with the evil sorceress on a one-by-one basis.

She heard the one who brings her food mumble about her sometimes. "Maybe she'll die next time" and "Not time yet."

Every time the new "Queen" came around, Isabel felt physically and mentally exhausted for days after. She knew Maleficent was trying to kill her, but nothing was working. For some reason, Isabel's body kept her alive. For what reason? She did not know. Her mother died giving birth to her. Her father died when she was eight, her brother eleven. Her brother died in the raid on the palace four years ago, so did her husband, aunt and grandfather.

There was no one out there to find when she got out of this prison. There was no reason to live.

There was something she was missing.

The cell door opened and the "Queen" stepped in. The room instantly got colder. Her black dress flowed out on the floor behind her, like a bride at a wedding. Like it did for Isabel at hers. The look on the queen's face was similar to Isabel's on that fateful day: hateful, but Isabel at least _tried_ to mask it.

Maleficent's green skin always threw her off. It had something to do with the magic insider her, Isabel knew that much. The why and how were always questions she couldn't answer.

"My dear Isabel," she said in her raspy voice. She knelt down in front of Isabel and reached out to touch her cheek. Isabel flinched but couldn't slap the hand away, for her hands were bound behind her—as they had been for the majority of her four years here.

"Seems we've kept the tears to a minimum today." She wiped the tears Isabel didn't know were there.

"Why am I still alive?" Isabel asked Maleficent. "Why keep me? What do you gain from this?"

She smiled. Not a nice, warm smile like her father or brother or grandfather would give her. No. It was a smile full of hatred. "Why dear, you will stay here until the time is right."

"And when is that?" Isabel spat out. "When you're dead and I can take over as the rightful ruler of California?"

Maleficent slapped Isabel hard across the face. "_I_ am the rightful ruler!" She stood up and straightened out her dress. "You will learn your place, Isabel."

"You didn't answer my question," Isabel mumbled.

Maleficent raised her eyebrow at Isabel, as if saying _do you want me to use _magic_ this time? _"The time will be right when Prince Lawrence is finally dead."

Isabel's head was swarming. _He couldn't be alive._

"You said he died four years ago. That…that he was killed in the rebel raid along with my grandfather and aunt!"

The tears were streaming down her face now. She could feel them this time.

"I cannot remember what I may or may not have told you four years ago, Isabel. Have some common sense, dear. If you are to serve your purpose, you must have common sense."

"And what _is_ that purpose?"

Maleficent's eyes narrowed into a glare. A few moments of silence. "You're not ready yet. You will find out when the time comes."

Isabel slowly rose up, which was hard with her hands bound to the wall with minimal slack.

"If my brother is still alive, that means that there's hope for this kingdom yet. You can still be defeated."

"I will never be defeated!"

"If Prince Lawrence is truly alive…" a smile grew on Isabel's face. "Then you _will _be defeated."

Maleficent clenched her fist and Isabel fell to the floor with a massive amount of pain, screaming in agony. She saw black spots in her vision before everything slowly began to blur.

She could see just well enough to see Maleficent kneel in front of her once again.

"You must learn to control that tongue of yours, Isabel. Traitors are not dealt with kindly in my kingdom."

Maleficent walked over to the cell door, which opened for her. She stopped in the doorway and turned to face Isabel once more.

She snapped her fingers and Isabel felt a new level of pain, if even possible. Maleficent stalked out of the room, muttering "no food for the rest of the week," to one of the guards.

The pain was too much for Isabel to handle. Every inch of her body felt paralyzed with pain and fear. Her mind was drifting away. Her vision was blurry. Her sense of touch was failing.

And with one last breath, Isabel let the darkness consume her. Again.

* * *

"_Psssh! Wake up!_"

Isabel opened her eyes, but didn't move.

"Psssh! Over here!"

Isabel looked over at the ajar cell door and sat up a little so that she could see who was standing there.

In the doorway was a young woman wearing a long green cape. The shadow coming off of the torch she was holding kept her face a secret. Isabel figured she couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

The flame flickered for a second, as if hit by a gust of wind and Isabel got a quick glance of the woman's face. A small part of her raven black hair was showed, contrasting her pale skin.

"If you want to get out of here, I'd get moving if I were you! We have a very small window of time here!"

She tried standing, but the shackles held her back. The young woman rolled her eyes, muttering something about how she forgot about "the bloody shackles." The woman came over and unlocked Isabel from the shackles that held her back.

_Freedom. Literal physical freedom._

Isabel stood up as fast as she could, despite every muscle in her body screaming to stop, and followed the woman out of the cell. Slowly and quietly the two made their way through the secret passageways of the castle in order to get out, as the young woman promised.

* * *

Once safely one hundred yards into the woods beyond the castle, the young woman stopped. She reached into her cape and pulled a small leather bag, a canteen and a dagger out and handed them to Isabel.

"Take these. Inside the bag is enough money to buy yourself food for about a week. Among other things."

Isabel took the items, but eyed the woman warily. "Why are you doing this?"

_"_I want Maleficent out of here as much as the next person, but we need Prince Lawrence to do it. And you're the only one who can bring him home. You're his younger sister. You're royalty."

_"You're nothing but a witch, I say! A witch! And I will not stand for a witch in my household! You will hide those devilish powers of yours unless you want to die!"_

"Oh, you must be mistaken," Isabel said in a shaky voice. "I'm not royalty anymore."

"You have the royal mark on your collar bone, do you not?" The young woman looked toward Isabel's collar bone, which was luckily hidden by her pale blue dress. It was the same nightgown she had been wearing the night of the raid. She hadn't been allowed to change in four years. It had enough dirt and grime on it to make Isabel look like a homeless girl, not a disgraced princess.

The royal mark was tattooed on everyone born of royal blood. Isabel was _technically_ born of royal blood, but that did not mean she was actually royalty.

"Well…yes…but—"

"Well that's all that matters. You need to find Prince Lawrence and convince him to come back and fight for the throne."

"Shouldn't it be King Lawrence now?"

The young woman smiled. "That's the spirit."

Isabel rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in protest. "Why would Lawrence listen to me? Besides, where is he? How am I supposed to find him if I didn't know he was alive until just a few hours ago?"

"That's your problem, not mine." The young woman said defensively. "I got you out here and gave you enough supplies to do so. The sooner the better, Isabel. Maleficent's reign of terror can't last much longer."

The young woman hesitated, as if what she was going to say next would be hard. "Inside that leather bag…there's…there's this vial. And inside that vial is a liquid that you must only drink when the darkest hour descends upon you."

Isabel resisted asking the rhetorical question that usually follows a statement like that. She knew it would get her nowhere.

The young woman turned back toward the castle.

"I didn't catch your name!" Isabel yelled after her rescuer.

"That's because I didn't give it!" The young woman stopped, but did not turn around to face Isabel. "All that's important is finding Prince…_King_ Lawrence. You can do it Willa, I believe in you."

Isabel stood there in shock. How did this woman know of her childhood nickname? Only her brother knew of that name.

Speaking of her brother, she didn't know where to even _begin_ in the search for Finn.

_He could be anywhere in the world by now. He left four years ago. _

And then it hit her like a bucket of cold water. She almost jumped for joy. Her last dream was the clue. It was almost as if her brain knew what was coming. The lesson in geography had been the clue. It was the lesson that had sparked a conversation between the siblings, leading Isabel to the logical conclusion of where he would be after all this time: his favorite secret hideout.

* * *

Isabel walked through the woods for over a day. Twenty nine hours, if her estimate was right. She had eaten a couple of berries she found and had a few sips of water out of the canteen.

She couldn't help but notice the beautiful way the sun's rays were reflecting off buildings in the village that she was approaching. She had no idea which one. It was more likely a town or a city, based off the sheer number of people walking around.

She tried her best to fit in with the crowd, but there was no way to do that truly. She had been inside a cell for four years with no outside contact and it showed. She held the leather pouch tight in her hand and searched for a vender selling something to eat. A new outfit would be next.

After walking through what seemed like endless streets, Isabel spotted a vendor selling boxes of fruit. She walked up to the man, inspected the apples and grabbed one.

"How much for this apple?" She asked the man.

"Six pennies."

Isabel reached into the small leather pouch and handed the man six pennies, as requested. Before turning to leave, the man reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Where did you get these girl?" He whispered harshly.

Isabel froze with fear. She couldn't get caught and sent back to Maleficent. She refused. She would rather go down fighting. "They're not stolen, if that's what you are implying." _Not technically lying…I didn't steal them…_

"Maybe, but they've got the royal family crest on it. I can't accept these."

"But…but…" Isabel's eyes widened. _What am I going to do? The young woman set me up!_

"Hugo! Oh good! You found her!" A handsome young man called out as he walked up to the vendor's table. He had brown hair, but in the sun it had a hint of red. He had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He winked at Isabel and her heart skipped a beat. "I've been looking for her all over the place!"

"You…you know her?" Hugo asked the young man.

"She's my sister." Hugo gave the man a skeptical look. "She doesn't get out much. She's not the sharpest knife in the butcher's shop, if you get what I mean." The young man nudged Hugo, winking at Isabel.

"Why does she have old royal coins? I can't take these. The Lady Grimhilde will have my head!"

"I'm sure she just found them lying around the house. You know my father's into collecting old antiques. Someday someone will pay good money for these ancient items!" The young man snatched the pennies from Hugo's hand and handed them back to Isabel.

"Get her out of here, Derek." Hugo let go of Isabel's wrist. He lowered his voice to harsh whisper again. "I can't have her around. She's bad for business."

"Don't worry about us, Hugo." Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out some more coins. "Here's enough for two apples. One for me," Derek turned to Isabel, "and one for her."

Hugo took the money and Derek grabbed Isabel's hand. "Come on sis. Back to the house."

Derek pulled her down the street, not in a forceful way, but with a little bit of urgency. He turned down a random alleyway and used his arm to push her up against the wall.

She gasped, from shock and slight pain. He leaned in close enough that only the quietest of whispers would be necessary.

"Where did you get those royal coins?" Derek asked Isabel in hushed tones. She couldn't get over his blue eyes.

"W-w-why did you save me back there?" Isabel quickly retorted. "I didn't need saving."

"Answer my question first, then I'll answer yours."

"Why should I trust you Derek?"

"Why do you have the royal mark on your collar bone?" Isabel was shocked. She looked down to see that the mark was in fact showing.

"I…uh…" Isabel hurriedly shoved her ripped dress sleeve over the mark.

He rolled his eyes. "You don't have to hide that from me. I'm on your side."

"What do you mean?"

In response, Derek took off his shirt and she froze in shock. _What is he doing? _

He turned around, revealing a small tattoo of the royal family crest just below his shoulder blade on his right side. Isabel immediately recognized it: all soldiers for the royal army had that tattoo. It was slightly different from hers, mostly in size but in color as well.

"You're a royal soldier!" Isabel pushed herself back against the wall. "How is that even possible? All of you are supposed to be dead!"

"Who told you that?" Derek turned around with a confused facial expression, slipping on his shirt as he waited for a response.

"Uh…I just assumed…" Isabel didn't know how much she could trust Derek yet. She needed to know how much he knew. She might even need him to help her find her brother.

"You were held in the castle by Maleficent, weren't you?"

"How could you possibly know that?"

He shrugged. "There were rumors that not all of the royals were killed."

"I'm not the only one. King Lawrence's still alive."

"Hmm…so all the rumors _are_ true." Derek took a step toward Isabel. She realized how much the shirt brought out his eyes. _Stop that, Isabel._

"The real question," he continued, "is why you were kept alive this long. The king didn't have any granddaughters alive at the time of the raid. He only had the prince."

"Yes he did."

He raised an eyebrow. "He did, eh?"

"Yes…I'm…I'm…" She took a deep breath. "You've just got to trust me."

Isabel was finding herself having a hard time focusing on the task at hand. The mental picture of Dell's abs was keeping her very distracted. _He's just so attractive. No Isabel! Focus!_

"What's your name, then? I can't recall a princess being alive at the time of a raid. There was a princess that died about…five years ago? No, maybe it was seven—"

"That's me," she blurted out. "I'm Princess Isabel and yes, I know that I'm supposed to be dead."

Derek seemed deep in thought for a few minutes. Nothing was being said. The only sounds were the ones coming from the main streets of the town that Isabel still didn't know the name of.

"It all makes sense now."

"What makes sense?"

"Maleficent must have kept you alive all this time so that she could use you as leverage to lure your husband out of hiding and to work for her side. She must assume that he's still alive somewhere."

She couldn't remember if her husband was dead or alive after the raid. She had always assumed dead. But if she was alive…was he?

Memories rushed through her mind. Where _was_ he that entire night? She hoped he wasn't alive. Even the thought of him still being alive sent chills down her spine. She shook the thought out of her head, deciding to stick to what she thought was true.

"My…my husband is dead…"

Derek looked up at her, almost with a sad look in his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't say that," Isabel retorted. "He's not the reason I was kept alive…at least I hope not—"

Derek had already tuned Isabel out.

He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but realizing that Isabel's husband was dead made him want to jump for joy. He found Isabel to be a beautiful young woman. There was something about her that drew him in. He felt the sudden urge to protect her from Hugo only minutes earlier. It was something about her brown hair tied into a messy braid and her dull gray-green eyes that just made it hard for him to look away. It was almost as if he had known her his whole life.

His mother had always mentioned love at first sight, but Derek had always thought of it as an illogical concept. How could one simply fall in love with one glance? Seeing Isabel in the marketplace at Hugo's table most definitely proved his earlier perception of love at first sight wrong. He was in love with Isabel—it was official.

"—I need to find my brother, Lawrence. He's got to reclaim the throne. Since you're a soldier of the royal army, can you help me?" Isabel looked up at Derek with pleading eyes.

"You want _me_ to help _you_ find Prince…I mean _King_…Lawrence?" Derek couldn't help but smile. He felt honored since she asked for his help. "Do you know where he is?"

"I believe so." She smiled and his heart skipped a beat. "Derek, are you coming with me or not?"

He took a step back and placed his arms on his hips, striking a pose and slapping the biggest smile on his face. "Of course, Your Highness."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that. Please just call me Isabel."

"And that, I will do." He looked her over once and an idea popped into his head. "You need some new clothes. And possibly some food. I know the perfect place to go."

* * *

Four Days Later-The Day After Miss Lovett's Botched Trial

Lawrence's Secret Hideout

"Look who decided to be a part of the world today!" Dillard said when he saw that his friend Finn had finally woken up. He smiled up at his friend before continuing to peel oranges with Finn's knife by the fire he had started an hour ago. Though he may not look the part, Dillard knew he could survive out in the woods.

Finn sat down beside him and rubbed his eyes. "Is Amanda awake?"

"Nope. Should I wake her?"

Finn shook his head. "I had trouble sleeping because of her. I had a lot to think about."

"You mean you had a lot to _fantasize_ about."

"What are you talking about?" Finn reached over and grabbed the newly peeled orange from him.

"You totally like Amanda. And don't even bother denying it." Finn reached in for another piece and Dillard promptly swatted his hand away.

"So what? She's a beautiful girl. How am I supposed to _not_ like her?"

"She's a _girl_. Girls are moody and annoying and all they want are little babies." Dillard turned to Finn. "Not worth it man."

"If you say so. I feel like I know her from somewhere though."

"How could you have met somebody here in the woods?" Dillard smirked at Finn. "Unless there's some secret life you're not telling me about."

Finn broke out into laughter to avoid the question, Dillard joined in because he thought the idea of his friend having some huge secret life was ridiculous.

"Either way we're stuck with her, you know," Finn reached for an apple out of the bag and took a bite out of it. "You two are outlaws now. Just like me."

"Oh, and I suppose you were an outlaw before us? What are you the expert on being an outlaw?"

"Yeah, something like that." Finn said absentmindedly without looking up from the fire.

Before Dillard could answer, Amanda sat down on the other side of Finn.

"Morning boys."

"Morning." Dillard and Finn both said unenthusiastically.

"So what's the game plan Finn? We can't stay here for much longer."

"We can't leave!" Finn said defensively. "No one will catch us here. I've been here for years!"

"But this place is made for one person! Either we have to expand or we move on." She looked down at the ground for a brief second as if gaining courage. "I've always wanted to see the coast. I hear it's beautiful this time of year." She had a twinkle in her eye that Finn couldn't help but find alluring.

"You've never been to the coast Amanda?" Dillard asked. "I thought everyone had been there!"

"Not me," she admitted bashfully. "I've never had the luxury to leave. I only got paid in food back in the village."

"They never paid you in money?" Finn asked. "That doesn't sound right."

"Well Finn, when you're as poor as dirt and have got a sister to feed, you do whatever you can to get food. Money isn't everything you know."

To Finn it seemed as if Amanda was trying to convince herself of the last part. He also noticed the light in her eyes dying a little when her sister was mentioned. He couldn't help but wonder what happened.

Dillard stifled a laugh. "Your sister? You mean—"

"Don't talk about my sister Dillard." Amanda's voice reached a level of force that Finn never thought possible.

"It's not my fault she left—"

"Shut up Dillard." Amanda closed her eyes and spoke firmly.

"—and joined Maleficent's court—"

"I said shut up Dillard." Finn felt like he was the only one noticing that Amanda's fists were clenched.

"—and was never heard from again!"

"I said shut up!" Amanda unclenched her fists and both Dillard and Finn were sent flying back ten feet.

He sat up and noticed how far away he was from her. He looked up at her and stared with wide eyes. _She said she could do things others couldn't… _

Tears were welling up in her eyes like water overflowing from a tub. She stood up, her hands shaking. "Finn…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to."

"What was _that_?" Dillard yelled.

"I'm sorry, I-I-I-I just got so worked up, and I…I…"

"Amanda, what was that?" Finn asked softly.

"I…I can…push things without really…touching them." Amanda looked at Finn, then glanced at the ground. "It only happens when I get all worked up and don't have time to cool down."

Finn got up and walked up to Amanda until he was right in front of her. Dillard stood still right where he had hit the ground, waiting to see what was going to happen next.

Amanda looked Finn right in the eyes and burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry. I…I didn't mean to! I just c-c-can't control it some times!"

"Is there anytime that you _can_ control it?"

"Uh…yes. I g-guess if I tried really hard." Amanda looked up at Finn, who was a few inches taller than her, and stared into his green eyes. "I'm so sorry Finn. I understand if you want me to leave."

"No." Finn answered firmly, and probably too quickly.

"What?" Dillard protested.

"Don't leave Amanda." Finn put his hands on her shoulders. "So you have powers? That could come in handy, assuming you can control it. It could be our secret weapon." Finn smiled.

"You…you really want me to stay?"

Finn nodded and pulled Amanda into a hug. After a few seconds, before Finn let go of Amanda, he looked past her and saw two people walking toward them—about one hundred yards away.

He immediately let go of Amanda, shoving her behind him, found his sword on the ground by the fire and pointed it out toward the two people.

"Who are you?" Finn yelled out at the two walkers.

"Lawrence? Is that you?" A female voice yelled back.

Finn was too stunned to reply. No one had called him that since the night he left. He let the two approach but did not lower his sword.

The two walkers looked to be his age, one female and one male. The male had brownish red hair and was dressed in armor that Finn hadn't seen since Maleficent took over—a great sign for the rightful king. The female was in a muddy pair of brown pants and a white shirt and had her brown hair pulled back in a messy braid.

"Finn?" the girl asked. "Do you remember me? I'm…I'm…"

Finn lowered his sword and gawked at the young woman. "Willa?"

* * *

**Things are getting interesting, that's for sure! Thanks for all the amazing reviews so far, y'all are too kind! I hope y'all continue to read and review. I want to know what you think of this re-do. Chapter 4 should be up soon! Have an amazing day and keep being awesome!**


	4. When Oranges Start Flying

Chapter 4: When Oranges Start Flying

It had been four days of walking for Isabel and Derek. Before leaving the village, he had bought her a pair of brown pants, a white shirt and shoes that were much better for walking. Derek had traded the royal coins for a good sword to accompany his armor.

Derek felt more like himself with the royal armor on, like the old ways were coming back.

The past four days had been the best of Derek's life. With everything Isabel said he fell more in love with her. He listened as he talked about her family…at least what she remembered. She went on and on about how she never wanted to be queen, but she felt her brother pressuring her to marry Spencer, Duke of Sacramento.

There had been laughs and tears, both of which Derek had been there for.

Isabel could not have been happier walking with Derek. The way he had dropped everything to join her on her quest to find her brother really moved her. She found Derek very attractive and couldn't help herself from falling for him.

But her head kept reminding her that she was royalty and he was not. It wasn't right for them to be together. It would never work. The last thing Isabel wanted was to get her hopes up, just to be disappointed. And the fact that she had been married before might be a little bit of a deterrent.

It was somewhere just past noon on the fourth day when Isabel saw the hideout. They had reached their destination.

Isabel saw three people: two boys and one girl. Upon seeing Derek and herself, one of the boys drew his sword.

"Who are you?" Isabel knew that voice too well. She almost started crying just hearing his voice.

"Lawrence? Is that you?" Isabel yelled back. Derek stood beside her, sword drawn as well.

The next few seconds were crucial. They would determine how relations would start in between the five people. Isabel wanted nothing more than to start off on the right foot with her brother and his two friends.

"Finn?" Isabel tried the only thing she could think of: jogging his memory. She slowly started walking toward her brother as she continued. "Do you remember me? I'm…I'm…"

Lawrence lowered his sword and gawked at her. "Willa."

Isabel smiled, letting a tear fall down her cheek. She ran up to her brother and gave him a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alive! I thought you were dead!" She whispered in his ear. Lawrence released her and held her at arm's length, looking her over.

"Where have you…but I thought…and you were…and…how did you find me?"

"Whoa! Slow down there Lawrence! Let's sit down and talk."

"Okay." He smiled and hugged her again. "I'm so glad to see you again, sis."

Isabel heard Derek cough. She let go of Lawrence and walked over to Derek.

"_Finn_," Isabel said with a smile. Using her brother's childhood nickname brought back warm memories of days long gone. "This is Derek Philby. He was a soldier in the royal army, and he's here to help us."

"Behind me are Dillard Cole and Amanda Lovett." Finn stepped forward and extended his hand to Derek, who promptly shook it. "What's he here to help us with?"

"Restoring you back to the throne, King Lawrence," Derek said in reply, bowing slightly. "You're the rightful king."

"_King_ Lawrence?" Amanda asked. She was ignored.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dillard walked up and joined the group-refusing to be ignored. "My man Finn here is a _king_?" Isabel nodded. "That's awesome!" Dillard held his hand up for a high-five, which Finn did not return.

"Who said I wanted to be king?" Finn asked Isabel.

"It's your duty, Finn. You were born to be king."

"But what if I don't want to be king?" He crossed his arms. "I'm much better at being a nobody."

"Where's the Lawrence I knew back at the castle? Where is the Lawrence that claimed he was going to be the best king the kingdom had ever seen? Where's the Lawrence that had more courage than anyone I know? Where's the Lawrence that stands up for the weak, even if it requires him to lose something? The Lawrence that I'm related to wouldn't let a scumbag like Maleficent come in, kill his family, and ruin the kingdom! You've got to fight to save all that's good in this kingdom! Her reign of terror needs to end!"

All four stared at Isabel as she tried to catch her breath. She saw her brother's eyes studying her like a hawk studies its prey from above. She gave him a sad look, urging him to comply with her plan.

He saw straight through her, as if she was a piece of glass.

He spoke quietly, but firmly. Isabel only remembered him speaking that way when he was furious. "Did she hurt you in _any_ way, Willa?"

Isabel took a few deep breaths before answering in a quiet whisper. Lying wouldn't help her now. "Yes."

"That's it! That's the last straw! I'm going to chop her head off!" Finn walked back to the hideout and started gathering his things. "I'll charge right up to her and chop her stupid head off." Except he didn't say stupid.

"Finn! Calm down!" Isabel yelled after him. "Now's not the time to get irrational! We've got to get reinforcements! And we need a plan—" Derek placed a hand on her arm to stop her, seeing that Finn was too far away.

Amanda walked over to Finn, placed a hand on his arm and whispered something in his ear. Isabel could only assume it was something to calm him down. After some words were exchanged between the two, Amanda dragged Finn back to the group. His eyes were still aflame with fury.

"Let's not get irrational about this, King Lawrence." Derek said. "We'll need to come up with a plan. But we can't do this without allies."

Finn took a few deep breaths, staring at the ground, like he did when he was deep in thought.

"Who do you have in mind, soldier?"

"I say we need to try other monarchies. Word has it they are all on the brink of war with Maleficent."

"Okay." Finn took the time to look at each person in the eyes. "We leave in the morning." Finn turned and went back to the makeshift shelter that he called the hideout without another word. The other four were unsure of what to do. None but Isabel had seen him this angry before.

* * *

"Can I sit here?" Isabel asked Finn. It was in the middle of the night but when Isabel saw her brother sitting by the fire, she decided to talk to him.

"Sure, Willa." He scooted over to give her have enough room to sit on the log. The use of her childhood nickname made her smile. She remembered making her brother swear never to tell anyone about it, only allowing the nickname when they were alone.

"So this is the infamous hideout you raved about back in the day?"

Finn let out a small laugh, stabbing the grass with a stick to avoid her eyes. "How do you remember that?"

"Honestly? I didn't. The night before I got out, I had a dream about the day you told me about it." She grabbed a nearby stick and pushed rocks around with it. "Talk about coincidence."

"How did you even find this place?"

"You told me exactly how to get here."

"Oh, right. I forgot." He paused. "What happened to you during the raid? I guess you were in Sacramento at the time—"

"I wish I could remember." She sighed deeply. "I just woke up inside a cell that was in our palace. I was told my Maleficent herself that you and everyone in the family was dead."

Isabel felt a cold breeze just thinking about her. "It was like that for four years. Until a few nights ago when a young woman let me out and told me to come find you."

"Did you know who the woman was?"

"No. She wouldn't tell me her name."

"Willa…I'm so sorry that all this happened to you. It's all my fault."

"How is all of this your fault? For some reason she thought I would be useful to her, otherwise I'd be dead."

"I thought you already were," her brother mumbled.

"I know…I know…"

"What happened? Your husband came in saying that you died…and that he couldn't find your body…and…"

Isabel looked down on the ground. "It's a long story."

There was a full minute of silence.

"So Spencer is—"

"Dead." Finn and Isabel sat in silence, letting reality set in. They really were alone this time.

"So you're going by Finn now?"

He nodded. "Seemed appropriate."

She smiled. "I like it. Your childhood nickname."

Another minute of silence, this time the siblings were reflecting on good times long gone.

Finn turned to her "How did you meet a royal soldier?"

"Ran into him at a nearby village."

"How do I know we can trust him?"

"He's a royal soldier, Finn." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, we can trust him."

Finn studied her face, and then nodded. "Alright."

"What about Amanda and Dillard? How do you know them?"

"Dillard was the one who would get me free food when I would go into the village. Amanda, well…I kind of saved her from being burned at the stake."

She turned on him in a flash. "And what would compel you to do something so stupid! Maleficent already has it out for you. By doing something like that, you've probably exposed yourself!" She smacked him.

"I couldn't just let her die, Isabel. I…I know her from somewhere."

Isabel stared at Finn with her mouth wide open.

Finn shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"Oh my gosh, you _like_ her!"

Finn looked down at the ground, blushing. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"Oh Finn. Have you made a move yet?" She winked at him.

"I tried, she said the moment had to be right."

His sister laughed so hard she had trouble staying on the log.

"What's so funny _Willa_? Me being rejected is funny to you?"

"Yes, yes it is!" She said in between laughs. "I guess it never occurred to me that you'd actually start liking girls."

"Whoa there, I've liked girls before. I'm twenty-eight, sis."

"Really now?" She looked at him skeptically. "Name _one_."

"Remember that time we went into the nearby village with Wanda and you dared me to get a kiss from the pretty girl who worked at the tavern when Wanda wasn't looking?"

Isabel burst out into laughter. Tears were welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill. "Yes! And when you leaned in for a kiss, she slapped you across the face!"

"Yeah…I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty she was for the rest of the month."

"Wow, that's pathetic, Finn." And being the mature twenty-eight-year-old rightful king he was, Finn pushed his twenty-five-year-old sister so hard she fell off the log and both laughed.

"You need to do it, Finn." Isabel said after composing herself.

"Do what?"

"Take the throne back from Maleficent."

"I don't know Willa. I'm not cut out for being king."

Isabel turned to face Finn, placed her hand under his chin and turned his face toward hers.

"That's the exact reason I _know_ you're going to be a great king."

Isabel stood up. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep. I hear we've got some traveling to do."

"Night sis. I'm glad to have you back in my life. It got kind of lonely out here."

"Well lucky you, you're stuck with me from here on out." She smiled at her brother and best friend. "Night Finn."

* * *

"So let me get this straight…" Dillard asked his friend Finn. He was currently walking in between Finn and Isabel. Amanda and Derek had decided to take the lead. The sun was still low now, not even past noon. They had woken early and decided to start their journey.

They were currently headed to the coastal port, hoping to catch a boat ride to one of the island kingdoms. Supposedly the island kingdoms were about to wage war with Maleficent and the Kingdom of California.

That isn't what Dillard cared about though. "You two knew each other back before you-know-who took over?"

"She's my sister, Dill." Finn said with a slight hint of annoyance. For the past few hours, Dillard had been asking him every question imaginable about being the future king. Never mind the difficult and hard path to regain his throne. Dillard was worried about logistics and the backstory he had never heard.

Dillard turned to Isabel. "And your father married you off to the Duke of Sacramento? I heard he's a jerk!"

"Was." She said gently. If she was getting annoyed with Dillard's questions, it wasn't showing.

"So wouldn't you be queen if they thought Finn was dead?"

"I guess technically I was queen while he was dead…but…"

"We all thought she was dead," Finn finished.

"What?" Dillard turned to Isabel. "Is that true?"

"Obviously royal news doesn't reach as far as we thought," Finn muttered under his breath.

Isabel nodded, ignoring her brother's rude comment. "Yes, Dillard."

"What happened?" Dillard asked her, his eyes wide with anticipation.

Isabel didn't want to talk about it. The whole time she was married to Spencer was something she didn't want to talk about. It was a low point in her life.

Instead, she looked ahead and called out to the two leading the way. "Hey Derek? How much longer until we can rest a little bit?"

"I guess now's a good time." Derek replied. He found a small area in the woods where all five could sit down. Dillard pulled out a few oranges and started peeling his.

"So how much longer until we get to the port?" Finn asked the soldier.

"If we kept walking at the same pace…tomorrow afternoon."

"That's good, right?" Dillard asked with a mouth full of orange slice.

"Yes, Dillard. It's good. The faster we get help, the faster Finn gets to take back his throne." Amanda was directly looking at Finn, not breaking her stare for a second. Finn was glad he was sitting, because he felt his knees going weak. The stare was intense. There was a hidden meaning behind her statement, he just needed to figure out what.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it _my_ throne."

"Finn! Shut it!" Isabel scolded him. "We're not having this 'I'm not good enough to be king' crap anymore! You're going to do a great job and we'll be here to support you the entire time! Now deal with it!" Isabel picked up an orange and threw it at him, bouncing off his left shoulder and flying off into the woods.

"Who knew oranges could fly?" Dillard muttered to himself. Derek and Amanda overheard him and laughed quietly.

"Ouch sis!" Finn pretended to be hurt and pointed to in the direction of the orange. "Look what you did!" Finn stood up, but Isabel cut him off.

"Don't you dare go after that orange!"

"Why not?"

"Because then you're going to throw it at me! No way am I giving you that chance." Isabel stood up and headed off into the direction of the orange, Finn rolling his eyes as she walked past him.

* * *

"Stupid orange, where did you roll off too?" Isabel saw it had flown off in this direction, but couldn't seem to find it anywhere.

Isabel stopped in her tracks at the sound of a stick breaking.

She looked down beneath her own foot and saw that it wasn't her, which could only mean someone else was out there.

She took a few steps toward the group when she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She turned around at the last second and everything went black.

* * *

"Where's Isabel? She left like five minutes ago. Surely the orange didn't go _that_ far." Finn was now worried. The last thing he wanted was to lose his sister _again_.

"I'll go out there and find her." Derek got up, grabbed his sword and trudged off in the same direction Isabel had gone in not only five minutes earlier.

It only took two minutes before Derek had found her.

"_GUYS_!" Finn heard Derek scream. All three ran off toward his scream.

The sight absolutely horrified Finn.

Isabel was lying on the ground, clearly unconscious. She had a long gash that stretched almost all the way across her forehead. There were a few scratches on her arms and legs, but all of them had those from the thorns they had passed by earlier. The way she was lying could not have been comfortable. It looked as if she had been thrown down with a lot of force.

Derek was leaning over her, checking to make sure she was still breathing. Amanda knelt down on the other side of Isabel, and placed her hand on her forehead, examining the gash.

"What happened?" Dillard asked nonchalantly, again with a mouth full.

"It looks like somebody attacked her out here in the woods." Derek glanced up at Finn. They both knew it was time to keep moving, which would be very difficult with an unconscious girl.

Amanda ripped off a piece of her sleeve, wet it with water from Isabel's canteen and placed it over the gash to clean the wound. Dillard was helping Amanda, so Finn pulled Derek aside so that they could talk in hushed tones.

"Okay soldier. What do we do? We need to move on! Somebody's found us."

"We can't continue on, Isabel's unconscious!"

"I know it's not the _best_ idea, but we've got to keep moving! Somebody will have to carry her!"

"Carrying her would slow us down significantly, making it easier for whoever did this" Derek pointed to Isabel "to get all of us!"

"Great! Just great!" Finn let his hands fly up in frustration. "So what _do_ we do?"

"We'll have to stay the night probably. Somebody will have to stay up at all times and keep watch. It's our best line of defense against whomever is out there."

"Then we leave in the morning, whether she wakes up or not?"

"I think she'll wake up before then, but yes that's the plan."

* * *

Finn took first watch. Derek had surprised him. He was currently leaning up against the tree with Isabel's head in his lap.

_As if doing that would somehow help her wake up faster_, Finn thought to himself. Seeing this made Finn brought out overprotecting-big-brother feelings for Isabel. He didn't want her to get hurt, especially not by any guy he knew personally. _Oh great, now I'm going to have to talk to him about her._

Out of the corner of his eye, Finn saw Amanda sit up. She searched their mini campsite, but when her eyes found him, she smiled and came over to join him.

"How's first watch going?" Her voice was so sweet and caring, he almost made him forget the secret meaning statement she made earlier.

"Pretty boring if you ask me. Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope." Amanda stared off into the distance—which consisted of trees, trees, and more trees. "So you're the future king, huh? That's…cool." For some reason, Finn didn't think Amanda was all that impressed with his true identity. He was secretly hoping it would help him get that kiss he wanted so badly.

"I guess so. Can I be honest with you for a second?" Amanda nodded. "It's not that I don't want revenge on Maleficent, because I do, but I really just don't want to be king."

"Why don't you want to be king?"

"I'm not the kind of person the people will want. They wanted people like my father or my grandfather: brave, courageous, trustworthy, and…loyal."

"And why don't you think you have those things?"

"I don't know…I'm just not my father or grandfather, I guess."

"You're wrong." Amanda looked him directly in the eyes and Finn's heart skipped a beat. She reached over and grabbed his hands in both of hers. "You were courageous and brave when you saved me. You're most certainly trustworthy, and the fact that you're going back to regain your family's throne makes you pretty loyal."

"You think so?"

She gave both of his hands a little squeeze of reassurance. "I think you'll be all those things when oranges start flying." She winked at him, insuring her statement was just a joke and not meant to be taken too seriously.

Finn smiled at her and leaned in a little—maybe this moment was the right one. Amanda placed a finger to his lips.

"Not yet." She gave him a brief smile. "Now let Derek keep watch and get some rest."

Normally, Finn didn't let people boss him around like that, but Amanda was different. Everything about her was different—but in a good way. He felt that connection between the two of them grow stronger and stronger with each passing moment. There was still something deep down that was tugging at his heart. He _knew_ her from somewhere. But where? Should he ask her?

He shook his head as he walked over to Derek to get wake him up.

* * *

Derek sat there with Isabel's head in his lap, stroking her hair mindlessly. He had been doing this since they found her and he would keep doing it until she woke up. Amanda had cleaned off the gash fairly well and she had tore off the edge of her dress to wrap around her head for the night.

He had to admit it, the past few days had been great, but seeing Isabel unconscious stirred up feelings he didn't know he had. When he had found her, he had wanted to find who did this to her and hurt them—bad.

"Derek?" Her weak voice croaked out. He looked down to see Isabel opening her eyes.

Derek brushed his hand across her forehead, moving a stray hair away from her eyes, careful to avoid the gash. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone dropped a house on me." She gave him a weak smile.

"That bad, huh?"

She nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Just a couple of hours. I was really worried about you."

"Head wounds," she shifted to a sitting position, "always look worse than they really are."

He raised an eyebrow at her, more curious than ever. "And how would you know that? Does this happen to you a lot?"

For a second, she froze, almost as if caught in the act of something. But then that second was over and she changed to attack mode. "Are you underestimating my intelligence Derek? Because I am a very smart young lady."

"No, no, no! I mean, you're very smart. Why would I ever call you stupid? Because you're not. Stupid, that is." Derek stopped himself, realizing how much of a fool he had become.

Isabel let out a small laugh, looking away from him, but she could not hide the blushing. Her reaction was rather cute, if Derek was being honest with himself.

"Did you find the person that did this to me?" Isabel used her free hand to point to the gash on her forehead.

Derek shook his head. At the mention of her attacker, Derek felt his anger rising slightly. Maybe it was that sense of protection he had felt almost a week ago when he had first met her. If only he had been faster. Maybe if he had gone with her…

"Don't you do that to yourself," Isabel whispered. The tone of voice had turned more to a stern, mother-like voice, as if she was warning him not to think the way that he was. "I know that look, Derek." She placed her hand in his his and gave it a light squeeze. "What happened is in the past. There's nothing you can do to change that."

He stared down at her soft hands in his rough ones. Years of fighting in the army versus years of living in a royal palace shown in their hands now. He rubbed his thumb over her fingers, feeling the smooth against the rough.

He glanced back up at her and gave her a weak smile. "You should get some more rest."

She shook her head. "Not tired," she mumbled through a yawn.

"Sure you're not, love." He smirked.

She glared at him, seeing right through the sarcasm. She yawned again and her face scrunched up in frustration. "Fine," she mumbled.

He changed the bandage off of her forehead, since Amanda made a few extra ones in case they would be needed during the night. Once he had done that, he saw that she was asleep again. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He couldn't help but smile.

_Focus, Derek. You've got to watch out for everybody else too_. He positioned her so that he could stand up and not wake her up in the process. He then stood up and walked over to another part of the camp and put Isabel to his back, to block the temptation of looking at her during the rest of his watch.

* * *

From behind one of the pillars in the throne room, Jezebel saw it all.

The messenger knocked on the door rapidly before bursting through the giant doors. He led the soldier into the main throne room, where Maleficent was sitting on the throne. Her black dress flowed out to the floor. Her green skin glowing awkwardly in the light of the flames in the room. She created an eerie atmosphere that was unlike any other.

The room was freezing cold, numbing to those who were not used to it. At her right was a man, whom the messenger recognized as General Jafar—the leader of the army. On her left, was Lady Grimhilde, who was the ruler of one of the larger villages about a day's trip away.

Both were just as intimidating as Maleficent herself, but neither were as powerful. Both were competing for Maleficent's attention, but the messenger immediately received it.

"Your majesty, this soldier claims to have important news that only you can hear." The messenger said while bowing.

"Bring him here then leave my presence."

The messenger did as he was told, and the soldier walked toward the throne.

"Your majesty, I have news that one of my soldiers found the Princess Isabel. One can only assume that the prince is not far away."

"And what did the soldier do upon finding her?" Maleficent tapped her fingers on the arm of the throne.

"She was wounded, your majesty, but she is not dead."

"Good. She can still be of use to us. Do you know where they were headed?"

"The soldier believes they are headed to the coastal port."

"Send out a team to intercept them. Make sure they do not leave get onto a boat."

Upon hearing this, the soldier nodded, bowed and left the room.

It would be hours before Maleficent and her colleagues would leave the throne room, but that didn't matter. Jezebel was here to observe. To take in every bit of information possible to deliver to the cause in the middle of the night. As long as Maleficent didn't call for her, she was perfectly fine where she was.

By the time Maleficent retired to her room for the night, Jezebel's head was swimming with all the information she had learned. More to share. More to add to their knowledge base. More to help plan the coup d'etat.

More _time_. That's what Jezebel needed.

Something she might never get.

* * *

**It's been a while and I'm sorry. It happens! Please review and let me know what you think! Chapter 5 should be coming up soon! Keep being awesome and have a wonderful day!**


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